


worth the wait

by thishasbeencary



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kamome, M/M, Post-Canon, Soft Viktor, Softviktorzine, Time Travel, Viktor Nikiforov is so incredibly in love that it hurts me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-08 07:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14689539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thishasbeencary/pseuds/thishasbeencary
Summary: There was a crash in the living room.Yuuri had just left to run some errands, so there was absolutely no reason that Viktor should be hearing that kind of noise from their living room. Maybe Yuuri had forgotten something, or the dogs had gotten into something they shouldn’t have. Viktor stood up and walked over to see what had happened.And he saw… himself.(Or: Viktor reassures a younger version of himself that his future life will be so incredibly amazing.)





	worth the wait

**Author's Note:**

> this is my fic that i wrote for softviktorzine <33 it was my first experience with a zine and an absolutely amazing one and i want to thank all of the mods and participants for creating such a gorgeous piece of work that gives so much love to my favorite boy <33 i'm so excited to finally share this with all of y'all <333
> 
> probably not shockingly, i wrote something with two viktors. sometimes, the best person to reassure you that your life will get better and you're going to be so so so so happy and loved is yourself, you know? man i wish an older cary would do the same for me some day.
> 
> LINK IN END NOTES TO ART HANA-TOX DID FOR THE FIC it's absolutely gorgeous pls also send love <3

There was a crash in the living room.

Yuuri had just left to run some errands, so there was absolutely no reason that Viktor should be hearing that kind of noise from their living room. Maybe Yuuri had forgotten something, or the dogs had gotten into something they shouldn’t have. Viktor stood up and walked over to see what had happened.

And he saw… himself. Much younger, his hair still long, even if his features were defined. He had to be twenty or twenty-one. And he looked understandably shell-shocked when Viktor came in, pulling himself up from where he’d seemed to have fallen on the floor.

“How did you get here?” Viktor asked Vitya (which Viktor decided was the best way to refer to him in his head; the diminutive was for someone he cared about and was close to – a younger version of himself fit that description pretty well).

“I don’t know?” And Viktor recognized that tone of voice in himself – panic. And it was a good reason to panic, being time-travelled and meeting an older version of himself, with no idea where he was. At that age, Vitya had never been to Hasetsu before, and definitely had no reason to think he was living there. Even if he knew nothing about the house, it wasn’t his room at Lilia’s or his own apartment, so there was good reason to freak out.

Nonetheless, Viktor dropped any line of questioning for now. This wasn’t some stranger; no one was breaking into the house. This was himself, and he looked terrified and vulnerable and Viktor wanted to make him comfortable for however long he was going to be here.

“Let me make you some tea,” Viktor said, dashing into the kitchen and rooting through a cabinet to find a container of chocolates. Vitya stumbled after Viktor, almost like he was being pulled. He was probably afraid to stay near the doorway by himself in such an unfamiliar place. Viktor grabbed the box that he was looking for from the shelf. “Have some of these. Go to the living room, right there, and have a seat. The dogs should be on the couch, they’ll accept cuddles from anyone.” Viktor gave the instructions gently, so he wouldn’t overwhelm Vitya. He just wanted Vitya to go to the living room and at least _try_ to relax. Viktor shoved the sweets in Vitya’s direction, making sure that he’d walked toward the couch before Viktor began to make their tea.

Once the tea was made, Viktor grabbed the raspberry jam from the fridge, putting some in each of the mugs. He carefully picked them off of the counter and walked out to the living room where Vitya had settled with his and Yuuri’s poodles. One of the poodles was pulled on his lap, and his fingers were clenched in the fur in a familiarly anxious way.

Viktor smiled, sitting down on the couch and handing one of the mugs off to Vitya. “Raspberry jam,” he said as Vitya peered into the cup.

“Yakov would yell for hours if he knew what you were giving me,” Vitya said, eyes bright. “He threatened to ration my jam last time he saw me make tea.”

What his coach didn’t know was happening in another lifetime wouldn’t kill him. “You just got teleported to another time with another version of yourself, you deserve sugary snacks and tea with too much jam.” Viktor called the other poodle to himself, and ruffled her ears once she was on his lap.

Vitya was silent beside him, watching the tv playing reruns of some show for a while. At last, he turned to Viktor. “How much do you think you can tell me about your life? If I’m you, and you tell me, will it mess all this up?”

“Don’t you want to be surprised?” Viktor questioned, and Vitya laughed.

“I don’t know. It’s already not entirely a surprise, is it? You’re living by the seashore somewhere. You’ve got two poodles, and a… husband?” Viktor started at the mention of Yuuri, because that was one thing he _really_ didn’t want to mess up if somehow this interaction could shift his future.

His shock must have shown on his face, because Vitya motioned to their mantel, where pictures of him and Yuuri sat. Pictures of their first skate together, of their wedding. Of family and friends. Of everything that he never expected, but got out of this life. Of things that made him and Yuuri _happy_ , beyond all else.

“He is your husband, right? I mean, those look like wedding photos,” Vitya said.

“He is,” Viktor answered after a second. “And when you find him, you’ll never want to let him go. I don’t want to tell you too much, though. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, or… this.” Viktor gestured to the room and the house – the life he had was too precious to accidentally ruin.

Vitya nodded, seemingly appeased for now. He turned back to the tv, sipping at his tea and munching the snacks quietly, exuding calm and happiness that Viktor _knew_ was strange for the time he came from. That time was full of anxiety, nothing like the tranquility Viktor had now.

Vitya was so… calm, and young. Viktor knew he had been high-strung at that age, so looking at Vitya and seeing this kind of relaxation… It was completely unheard of. He wasn’t shocked to see the way that Vitya slumped almost motionlessly into the couch, the only real movement the brush of his hand through the dog’s fur. Honestly, Viktor thought that he’d fallen asleep while watching him for a little while.

It was maybe another half hour before Vitya shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable, like he couldn’t stay still. He set his tea onto the table, shifting and fidgeting in place before shoving the dog off onto the floor, stretching his arms in front of him. When Viktor looked over at him, he could have sworn they looked… almost transparent. “I… think I’m leaving?”

“What do you mean?” Viktor asked in alarm, following as Vitya rose and headed for the door, moving seemingly on his own.

Vitya was shaking where he was standing, and Viktor realized that he hadn’t been wrong – he did look blurrier, like he had never been there at all. Like a ghost, fading away. “Everything’s fuzzy and unfocused, I think I have to go.” Vitya lifted a hand to the door before pausing. “Viktor?” His hand was clenched tight around the doorknob, white-knuckled and shaking. He didn’t want to go? Or… there was something more he wanted to say. “How old are you?” The question was almost silent, and not one that should make much sense at all, but Viktor understood.

_How long do I have to wait?_

Viktor walked forward to wrap his arms around Vitya, holding him close for a moment, even as he could feel him fading away in his arms. Things would be back to normal soon, but he wanted to give Vitya what he needed to hear. A touch of reassurance that everything would be okay; better than that, even.

“I’m thirty-four,” Viktor answered, pulling away slowly. “And I’m a retired world champion married to my amazing husband, living in his hometown with our dogs.” He reiterated what Vitya had already learned for the simple purpose of reminding him – there was so much _good_ in the future.

There were gold medals, and a perfect husband, and a house by the sea. And that wasn’t even everything. He could go on and on with pieces of his life that were _beyond_ amazing. He taught skating lessons to children; he helped to revitalize Yuuri’s hometown; he was loved and cared for and everything he could have wanted.

It wasn’t like it had been in Vitya’s time. _That_ was constant practice and meetings with sponsors, and just desperately hoping for what could have never come. Vitya had no idea that he was about to become the most decorated skater in the history of the sport, that he’d never have to worry about anyone knowing his name ever again. He had years of practices and boring meetings left, but it all led to… so much more. Just when he thought he had reached the end of what he could possibly do, too. Yuuri changed _everything_ about his life. And in such an amazing way.

“So it’s worth the wait? This man, this life? It’s worth however long we had to wait for him?” Vitya questioned but he had already faded too much before Viktor could answer. He hoped he didn’t have to. He hoped that what Vitya had seen, the little that Viktor had been able to say, he hoped that it said all he couldn’t.

He stood where he was for another moment, before walking back to the couch. Viktor picked up the photo album of their wedding that was kept permanently on an end table in the living room, so anyone and everyone could see it. It was there so they could share their love. He hadn’t wanted to show it to Vitya, afraid that somehow showing him what was contained within that book would ruin the future that they had.

He’d flipped through only a few pages when Yuuri walked into the house, smiling at Viktor before he walked to the couch. Viktor looked up from the scrapbook, scooting over on the couch to make room for his husband, who immediately cuddled into him. “What are you doing, Vitenka?”

“Reminiscing,” Viktor responded, stroking a finger over a picture on the page, of him and Yuuri standing together, wide smiles on both of their faces. Just like every other picture they had together – endlessly happy. After a life of skating and nothing else, this was what he deserved in retirement. Happiness, at last. A long, happy life with his perfect husband.

“It wasn’t that long ago,” Yuuri laughed fondly, leaning in to rest his head against Viktor’s shoulder, staring at the pictures as well.

“I had to wait a long time for this,” Viktor responded, kissing Yuuri softly, pulling away to look at him, to admire him.

This was far from the life he’d imagined for himself at Vitya’s age. He’d wanted to _win_ – to be someone that everyone would remember. A surprise every time someone saw him on the ice, and even off of it.

That was what he perceived would make him happy. And it had, but that happiness was fleeting. He’d realized that once he began to win – he had to keep finding new ways to make himself happy. He had to keep surprising people, so it didn’t fade into routine. A routine he loved, but not one of eternal happiness.

But that had changed so quickly, as years went by. It was less and less about winning, and more about… his life. He didn’t just want to be Viktor Nikiforov, the skater that everyone knew would pull something amazing off, to the point that they just… expected what he’d do. He didn’t want to just have a signature move, something that he could pull out to score higher. He didn’t just want to be world record after world record – he wanted his skating, and his _life,_ to mean something.

Finally, after years of trying, he’d finally gotten there. _This,_ life with Yuuri, granted him enough happiness to last a lifetime. And he would have waited _another_ lifetime to get this, if he had to.

He hoped that he’d convinced Vitya that it was worth the wait.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading and thank you again for the experience of being in the zine <33 my blog is [yoyoplisetsky](https://yoyoplisetsky.tumblr.com/), if you want to come follow me to see what i'm up to and watch me continuously love viktor more than the sun itself.
> 
> [this is a link](https://twitter.com/hana_tox/status/997681230203109379) to the absolutely amazing art that hana-tox did for this fic for the zine. please go check it out and give lots of love. i'm still so blown away by how gorgeous it is.
> 
> kudos/comments/bookmarks are always super appreciated <3


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